Originally presented on October 30, 2009
10:30 a.m. to Noon (Pacific)

Order Option       Price   CD Recording Only       $219

"You're fired!" "It's just not working out." "We're going to have to let you go."

No matter how you say it, terminations—whether they involve a single employee or a large-scale layoff—are probably one of the least favorite parts of your job. Along with the emotional stress they cause, terminations can also pose enormous legal risks. Make one mistake in the firing process, even an innocent one, and your company may quickly itself embroiled in a costly lawsuit.

There are so many different ways to get it wrong:

• You say something to a departing employee in the heat of the moment that is prime lawsuit fodder later on.
• You discover after the firing that the ex-employee's supervisor has always written glowing performance appraisals for that worker—and the documentation now suggests retaliation.
• You go the extra mile by offering severance payments with waivers to employees being laid off—but a common wording error later renders those waivers unenforceable.
• You make an error calculating a terminated employee's final paycheck, or you withhold funds from departing workers that you're not lawfully allowed to deduct.

• the most common termination-related mistakes california employers make—and how to avoid repeating them
• Why you must prepare for the possibility of termination even before you hire an employee
• The specific policies and practices you need in place to lawsuit-proof your company before you terminate another employee
• What you should always say—and what you must never say—when letting an employee go
• How to review your severance agreements to make sure they're binding, and risky language to watch out for
• The crucial post-termination steps you should take to stay out of legal trouble
• What to do when an employee fired for cause later asks you for a job reference
• The unique risks involved in group layoffs, as well as terminations involving older workers
• What you can—and cannot—deduct from a terminated worker's last paycheck

About Your Speaker:

Douglas J. Farmer, Esq., is a partner in the San Francisco office of law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC. His practice focuses on representing employers in California and around the country in state and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies ranging from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He regularly provides counsel on a wide range of complex employment matters, including wage and hour compliance, employee terminations, leave requests, trade secret theft, and employee privacy. Also, he conducts employment law training and reviews policies for his clients, and he speaks and writes frequently on HR issues. Farmer has been named one of California's leading employment lawyers in "Chambers USA, America's Leading Business Lawyers." He earned his law degree from Harvard University.

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